Trapped in the Nomicon
by cimorine
Summary: Someone has tampered with the Nomicon, and now Randy Cunningham is trapped. If he is not set free soon, Norrisville will have a new ruler, and it won't be pretty. But perhaps help can come from two unlikely friends, and just as unlikely heroes. Can they reach Randy in time? Will Randy escape in time to stop the sorcerer from stanking up the town?
1. Prologue

Norrisville. At night it was easy to think that it was just a peaceful town. During the day, it housed constant problems, many centering 'round the High school. Weekends were less crazy than most weekdays, but nights were calm itself. Even ninjas had to sleep. And that's what she was counting on.

800 years, and some things never changed. New ninjas were picked to fight the sorcerer every 4 years. The sorcerer tried in vain to escape, but again, to no avail. But no longer. She had been watching him from afar, in a way that no one would suspect, not even a ninja. She had pinpointed his weakest vulnerability: what he called "schloomping." Whenever he gazed into the Nomicon, the ninja's handbook, he went unconscious. If she could just lengthen that period long enough for the sorcerer to get free…. Oh, it had not been easy. The search for the perfect spell had taken well over 100 years, but finally, she had found it. The Ninja's fate was sealed.


	2. Chapter 1

Randy walked to school, eager to get started. Something about today just felt right. The whole weekend had been strangely quiet, with not much ninja-ing. But, it had freed up Randy to play grave puncher and a host of other video games that had come out since summer, which kept Randy and Howards occupied and happy from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

As he reached the school, a roar called out, signaling that once again, something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. "Oh yeah!" Randy shouted enthusiastically, and ducked behind a tree to don his mask and do his thing. He LOVED Mondays!

It was an easy de-stank this time (flute-girl's jealousy at Steven's tom-catting), so it seemed normal that the Nomicon would stay out of it. But after the third de-stanking without the Nomicon intervention, Randy began to suspect something was up. "What the cheese, Nomicon? I could have really used your help back there!" Randy whispered as he tried to act like he was paying attention in his last period of the day. The Nomicon didn't even glow at the harsh remark. Randy raised an eyebrow. Usually, the Nomicon was kind of high-and mighty, and wanted him to know who was teaching who. But it was totally silent. Randy resolved that something was up. Without a second thought, he opened the book and schloomped right in.

"Randy?" Principal Slimovitz shook the boy's shoulders hard. He seemed to be sleeping. He drooled a little on a closed black book with red markings. The Principal knew it wasn't school property, but chose not to pry into it. After all, what could a book do to make this boy sleep?

"Mrs. Fletchmann?"

"Yes, principal?"

"Were there any monster attacks in this room when you first noticed he fell asleep?" The history teacher looked at her principal strangely. "No, sir. Why?" The principal didn't answer, but felt Randy's head. "No sign of a bump. It can't be a concussion, but what else could it be?" Principal Slimovitz gasped suddenly. "Mrs. Fletchmann?" he turned quickly with an alarmed look on his face. "Sir?" "Call an ambulance. This boy is not waking up. And get me Randy Cunningham's parents. I don't know what happened, but I think he might be in a coma!" Mrs. Fletchmann nodded firmly and ran down the hall. The principal didn't even tell her not to run in the hallways. This was an emergency. One that the Ninja, wherever he was, could not save them from.

The moment Randy schloomped in, he was met with the same beautiful Ninja-like drawings. "So, Nomicon, what's the deal?" A screen flashed in front of him as he fell into the Nomicon. It showed a translucent women in a dark room. "Wait. Is that. . . . MY ROOM?!" He looked in the picture and saw all his things, and him, sleeping in his bunk-bed! "Oh my cheese that woman was in my HOUSE? In my ROOM? LAST NIGHT?!" As he watched, the Nomicon on his desk glowed green slightly, then faded. Then, most incredible of all, the woman walked through the wall and flew outside.

"What are you trying to tell me, exactly?" Randy asked. "That a ghost came in, magicked you, and now something's wrong?" floating words appeared in front of his eyes.

"When a ninja needs rescuing, patience is great, and friends are greater." Randy read. Then he snorted. "Rescuing? Who needs rescuing? I'm with you!" Red light flashed, and the screen showed a picture of Randy, passed out on the Nomicon in class. As he watched, first the teacher, than the principal came up and shook his uninhabited body. Then, they tried to take the Nomicon away, but his hand wouldn't let go. It seemed stuck to the Nomicon. He wasn't even holding it!

"Uh, Nomicon, it looks like I need to go. Can this wait?"  
More red lights and honking.

"It can't wait?"

The ground came up with a splat from his freefall onto a rock plateau, surrounded by calm white fog and the occasional bird. It was then that Randy finally connected the dots. "I'm. . . . STUCK IN HERE?!" green light dinged.

"This…. This can't be happening. Let me out! LET ME OUT NOMICON!" Randy shouted to the skies, but red lights just flashed and a Bonking noise sounded.

Randy began pacing. "What about the Sorcerer?" a picture flashed in front of him of monsters being stanked through the school. "Oh great, Shoobtastic. If I don't get out there and de-stank those guys, what's going to happen to Norrisville?" A picture of the sorcerer laughing and standing over Norrisville. Randy felt panic rising in his throat. He halted to try and work it out in his brain.

"OK, I gotta get out soon, before Norrisville as we know it is doomed. But you said I also gotta be patient and wait for rescuing from friends. But . . . but what am I supposed to DO here while I wait to be rescued by Howard?!" Red lights "Not by Howard?" new words appeared.

"For a ninja to be patient, a ninja must be focused on self-preparation." Randy read. "So wait, we're gonna train? Right now? Nomicon, that doesn't seem like the Brucest idea."

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and out of it walked the first ninja "NINJA PRIME!" Randy cried, and ran forward. All of a sudden, it seemed really good to see a familiar face, and even better to see a calm one. Instead of shaking his hand, Randy gave the first Ninja of Norrisville a hug. Instantly he felt his panic dissipate. "Randy! So good to see you, my friend. But we must look to our training." Randy looked up and nodded. He silently thanked his lucky stars and the Nomicon for the final lesson which made it possible for him to even see the first Ninja of Norrisville in here.

"I have been brought here to explain our plan for rescue, and to teach you the skills you must master."

"Uh, I thought I was being rescued by friends, or something?" Ninja Prime smiled. "Yes, but we must let those friends know you are in peril. There is an ancient technique called dream-speaking. Ninjas usually master this technique sometime around their second year, but these are dark times for you."

"So I get to learn something ahead of time! SO BRUCE!" Ninja Prime sat down and beckoned for Randy to do the same.

"Focus your mind. You must gain a state of meditation." Randy closed his eyes and focused. Perhaps it was because first ninja was teaching him, rather than the Nomicon directly. Or perhaps because he was in the Nomicon and it was easier to focus. Either way, after a moment, Randy felt his body become light.

When he opened his eyes, he saw black. "Wh-where am I?!" he cried, a little frightened. With a snap the scenery the Nomicon had up appeared again. "You were in a spiritual state. One that is easy to find dreams in. You must focus your mind and ignore what you see. The first person you seek to dreamspeak with is named Daniel Fenton. He resides in a town known as Amity Park." An image appeared above the first Ninja's head.

"Find him, tell him where to go and that you need his help. Do not stay too long in his dream, for if you do, you shall suffer whatever you encounter in his dream. May the sun shine on your journey."

Randy closed his eyes and focused again, this time with more intention. He opened his eyes to see the blackness, but instead began walking in his spiritual body, keeping the picture of the boy in his mind. "Black hair, bright blue eyes… Amity Park."

All of a sudden he felt himself falling through the sky towards a strange looking house with the word "FENTON" flashing in neon above it. "RAAAHHHHHH! WOOOAAAHHH!" he screamed as, even more alarming, Randy went straight through the walls and straight to the person he had been looking for. Straight INTO the person he had been looking for.

For a moment, there was darkness. Then, he stood in a strange, green dimension, with floating doors and strange, floating ghosts. And in the middle was a boy in white hair and green eyes, wearing a black and white suit. "Haha! This is the best you guys can do?!" the boy yelled in excitement as he blasted each ghost with a green ray that shot from his hands. Each ghost he hit cried out in anguish. Randy smiled. It appeared he wasn't the only one who liked to wonk the bad guys. Finally, the only one left was Randy. He started to go towards the boy, waving his hand in a friendly gesture, but the white-haired kid actually shot at him! Randy was so alarmed he couldn't even move, but the blast went right through him. "Woah, man, What'd I ever do to you?!" Randy cried as he walked over to the floating kid.

"Hey, why didn't that hurt you? Aren't you a ghost?" Randy gave the kid a weird look "Uh-duh, I'm a kid! Specifically, the NINJA!" he crossed his arms in a tough-guy pose. "No way. A real ninja?" Suddenly the scenery changed and they were in a park at a picnic table with two other people; a pale-skinned, black-haired girl all in black and purple, and a brown-skinned boy with a red hat and glasses. Randy turned to the boy. Rings of blue-white light moved up and down from his middle, revealing "DANIEL FENTON!" Randy cried. "Woah! That's a neat trick! Can you do that in real life?" The boy gave him a strange look. "It's Danny, actually. And this IS. . . ."

"A dream. And I'm in your dream, but I'm not in your dream, I'm trapped in the Nomicon in Norrisville, and the Nomicon and first Ninja said that I had to tell you so that you could come rescue me." Danny looked at him blankly. "What the heck is a Nomicon, and where is Norrisville, and if this is a dream, why are you in it when I've never seen you before?!" Randy felt a buzzing sensation that felt similar to the Nomicon's call in the real world. "I can't talk, but I know that whatever happened, it was because of some wonkin' ghost." Randy could feel his spiritual body being pulled like taffy out of Danny's dream. "I gotta go, can't stay too long. Nomicon is calling. See you in Norrisville. . . Don't tell. . . anyone. . . I'm . . . . the ninja!" and with that, he was sucked backwards out of Daniel Fenton, out of the strange Fenton house, out of Amity park, and everything went black.

"Randy!"

Randy sat up and gasped like he'd been holding his breath for an hour. He gulped in air as the first ninja waited patiently for him to recover. "How went the dream-speaking, young friend?" Ninja prime asked after Randy had stopped wheezing and gasping. "That was crazy. But so. So Bruce. I got the message to him." Ninja prime nodded, satisfied. Randy was too tired to say more. "Rest now, Randy Cunningham. The next friend must be dream-spoken with as soon as possible, but you require all your strength to enter his dreams." Randy didn't argue, but fell asleep, there on the rock, in the Nomicon.


	3. Chapter 2

Danny Fenton gasped and sat up in bed. It took him a moment to recover. The kid had just been sucked away, like he was a ghost going into the Fenton thermos. Except he said he was a ninja. "That was the weirdest dream ever." As Danny got out of bed and got ready for school, he rolled over what he had seen and heard from the strange kid. Should he believe him? Theoretically, some ghosts could go into dreams. But this kid hadn't been a ghost. He hadn't seemed pale or ghostly in any way. In fact, if Danny didn't know better, it had been like the kid was someone his own age. But a ninja? Come on. Besides, who ever heard of a town named Norrisville, anyway? Danny was halfway down the steps to breakfast when he stopped. The kid had mentioned that there was a ghost involved. "Aw ghost breath. I guess I should check to see if Norrisville is even a real town."

"Oh, it is." A female voice said behind him, and Danny looked up to see his sister Jazz, following him down the steps. "It's in the news today. Some kid's been in a coma for a week." Jazz showed him her phone, and there he was. The kid. The . . . ninja. Except he hadn't been in a coma when Danny had seen him last. Or at least, he hadn't seemed to be. In a story just at the bottom read the headline, "Where is the ninja?!" with a picture of several giant green monsters running through a street.

"Oh my gosh. Jazz, I gotta go."

"Go where, Danny?" Jack Fenton asked as he walked to the teens frozen on the stairs. "Is this ghost business?"

"Um. . ." ever since Jack Fenton had found out his one and only son fought ghosts as a ghost, he wanted to go with Danny and help out. Danny had been flattered, but he also was insistent that he didn't need any help. He could handle it. Sometimes he let his dad tag along. It was kind of fun, defeating ghosts together. His dad did wield a mean jack-o-nine-tails. But this kind of thing seemed more the type for subtlety and secrecy. Two things his dad didn't really do. "It's ghost-ish stuff, dad, but really it's to help out a friend."

"Is something wrong with Tucker?" Maddie Fenton asked as she brought the table breakfast. Danny shook his head. "No, this is a . . . newer friend. Someone I just met, actually. It's . . . kind of hard to explain."

"Well, it can wait until after school, young man." Maddie said. Danny thought about the monsters ravaging the town of Norrisville. "Actually mom, I'm not sure that it can." Without a second thought, Danny Fenton transformed and flew out of the Fenton household to his parents' outraged screams. "Sorry guys, but seriously, I can take a sick day. Besides, this looks like a seriously messed up situation."

"Danny, wait!" Jazz had followed him. "Oh, come on Jazz! Can't you just trust me for once! I promise, there is a totally legitimate reason for me skipping school for this! It's-."

"I know. I trust you. But if you want to get to Norrisville, you're going to need to know where it is on the map." Jazz handed him a map of the US, with a red dot circled, near the rocky mountains. Danny looked from the map at her sister. "Wow. Thanks, Jazz. How'd you know. . ." Jazz rolled her eyes. "Give me some credit Danny. I am a genius, after all. Want me to tell Tucker and Sam where you are?" Danny smiled. "Yeah, if you could, thanks."

"You know they're gonna be pissed you didn't bring them along."

"I know. But if this is as bad as it looks, then they need to stay somewhere safe. Besides, I can handle it." Jazz kissed her ghost brother on the top of his head and handed him the Fenton Thermos.

"Go save a town, ghost boy."

"EW, Jazz!"

His sister laughed and waved as Danny tried to wipe the girl cooties off his hair while flying.

* * *

Randy opened his eyes to a new scene. This time, it was a quiet forest, with a rustling breeze blowing through the trees. The feeling remained peaceful, but Randy knew he had no time for that. "OK, how long was I out? How long have I been trapped in here?" Randy asked, turning. First ninja stood from his meditational position. "I believe the Nomicon can answer that in the best way for us both." A screen appeared in front of them.

"Day 5 of the Norrisville Monster craze that has everyone locking their doors. Where is the Ninja? What could have happened to our brave hero? In other news, Randy Cunningham has been in a coma for close to 5 days now, and shows no sign of waking up. Doctors are left puzzled as to what could have caused this."

"Five. Days?! I'VE BEEN IN THE NOMICON FOR FIVE DAYS OH MY CHEESE! WHY HAVE I BEEN INSIDE YOU FOR FIVE DAYS?!" Words appeared in front of him. " 'Time is relative inside the Nomicon,' Oh really?! What am I eating?!" A picture showed Randy hooked up to feeding and water tubes. "All right, fair enough, but what the heck, Nomicon! After this I am taking some alone time away from you!"

"Randy-San, the sooner we call the other friend, the sooner you will be rescued."

"All right, fine. Who's this next guy anyway?"

"The second friend is one known as Jake Long. He lives in New York City." A picture of a short, Asian-looking boy with black hair and green highlights appeared above Ninja Prime's head. "You must be careful in his dreams, for there may be countermeasures in place. He has great power."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful. Here goes nothing!" Randy concentrated and within moments was back to the blackness. "Jake Long, NYC." This one seemed to take a little longer, but soon, there was new York city. Randy was hurled towards a small complex in the upper east side, towards Jake Long. But he didn't expect what he found in Jake's dreams.

"Rose, baby, this has been awesome." Jake and Rose were sitting in the grass under a tree on a beautiful, blue-sky spring day, enjoying a dream picnic. Ever since they started these dream dates, things had felt easier on both sides. Jake was happy he could still see Rose without having to travel to China, and Rose was happy Jake was still alive to see her. Sometimes she worried about all the things he got into in New York City. Being a Dragon Guardian was no picnic. Jake and Rose leaned in for a kiss. And in dropped the Norrisville Ninja.

"HEY!" Jake stood up as the Intruder tried to collect himself. "Oh, wow, sorry man, I didn't know you were having a moment with your girl."

"What the heck are you doing in our dream?!" Jake shouted. Rose stood behind Jake. "You'd better go Rose. I don't know who this guy is or how he broke in, but I've gotta deal with him. I'll let you know, same time next Tuesday?" Rose kissed Jake on the cheek. "It's a date, Dragon boy." And with that, Rose disappeared.

Randy looked from where the blond girl had just stood, to the boy standing and glaring at him right now. "You're on a date? Like, a real one?" Jake didn't reply, but called out "Dragon up!" Before Randy's eyes, the short kid turned into a towering red dragon. "What the heck?! You have some weird dreams, dude."

"GET OUT OF MY DREAM!" Jake yelled and blew flame straight at Randy. He dodged, but just in time. Part of his sleeve didn't make it. "Woah, man, chillax! I'm here with a message!" Jake froze. "Oh. That's different, then, ain't it?" He turned back into his human form and walked over to Randy. "What's the message?"

"Well, see, I'm Randy, and I'm a ninja, and I live in Norrisville, except I'm not there right now. I'm stuck. In the Nomicon. And I need you to come save me." Jake rose an eyebrow. "What's a Nomicon?"

"A book of Ninja awesomeness. I usually use it to train or figure out bad-guy stuff, but some ghosty-thing put a spell on it . . ." Randy could feel the Nomicon buzzing again. "And, that's my cue. But make sure you come and help me. I'm in the Hospital right now, I think, and you gotta hurry." The Nomicon started to pull at Randy. "If . . . . I don't get out . . . . monsters will let loose. . . . a sorcerer . . . . and Norrisville will be . . . . doomed." Randy flew backwards again into blackness.

When he opened his eyes he felt like he hadn't slept in a week. "Oh my shoob that was crazy." Randy said as the first ninja stood over him. "So, young one, is it completed?" Randy nodded. "Can I rest for just a bit?" He didn't even wait for an answer before he fell unconscious.

* * *

Jake sat bolt upright in bed and gasped. "Woah! I gotta go tell gramps about dat wack dream!" Jake sprang out of bed and got ready for school as fast as he could. "Gotta go, mom and dad, need to see gramps early, bye!" Jake shouted as he rushed down the stairs, grabbed a piece of bread, and fled out the door.

"Wow. What's got his knickers in a twist?" Jonathan Long asked as his son slammed the door. Susan Long shrugged. "I'm sure dad has something for him to do before school."

Jake dashed up the steps to his grandfather's shop. "Grandpa! I just had this crazy wack dream! I was on a dream date with Rose-."

"You still do those? Aww, that's so sweet!" Fu dog cut in. "Shut up, Fu! Anyway, and this kid fell right into our dream, and he told me he was some sort of ninja of a place called Norrisville, and that he's stuck in a book called the Nomicon."

"Woah, woah, woah, the Ninja? From Norrisville?" Fu dog asked. "Hmmm." Luong went to a book from his shelf and pulled it open. "The Ninja of Norrisville has been protecting the town for 800 years from a strange evil. If the Ninja were ever to be defeated, then an evil sorcerer will gain freedom and seize the place. It sounds as if you need to get over there right away."

"But what about school?"

"What about it? Some things are more important. I will call in sick for you."

"Aw, thanks gramps!" Jake gave his grandfather a hug. "Get off me, show proper respect for your elders! Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Oh, yeah. The ninja guy said the Nomicon had a spell put on it."

"A spell, eh? Well, I can whip up a little somethin' for you!" Fu dog said.

"And take this." Luong Lou Shi handed his grandson a rolled up map.

"What's this, gramps?"

"A map to Norrisville. It's somewhere in the Rockies. You have a long flight ahead of you. Go as soon as Fu dog makes the potion."

"The Rockies? Aw, Man!"


	4. Chapter 3

Danny flew as fast as he could, but it still wore him out. After an hour of flying, he was wishing he HAD brought Tucker and Sam along. "At least I'd get to talk to someone. This is boring." It was a long way from Amity park, Michigan, to Norrisville, Colorado. "Well, at least the scenery is nice.

Finally, a giant mountain rose above the skyline just as the sun was setting. There it was. Norrisville. "Wow. This doesn't seem like a crazy place." Danny said to himself. But as he got closer he heard multiple screams rip the air. "Ho boy, wrong call, Danny." He flew straight for the sounds.

Monsters were running amuck. Danny got busy blasting monsters. "Everybody, run to safety!" he hollered as he kept the monsters busy. All he could do was give them an ectoblast, which wasn't much since it was supposed to hurt ghosts, but at least it kept on the retreat. "AAAHH! A GHOST!" someone yelled. "Oh for pete's sake." Danny rolled his eyes and kept blasting. Soon, the monsters retreated from the crowd. Danny turned back to the fleeing crowds. "You're welcome!" he called out. "AAAHH! MONSTERS AND GHOSTS?! WHERE'S THE NINJA WHEN YOU NEED HIM?!" someone else shouted as they fled.

"Oh, right. The ninja." Danny went invisible and began searching for the hospital.

* * *

Jake had no idea how long he was flying, but it felt like forever. His wings were tired, but he managed to make it to Norrisville by sunset. "This is the LAST TIME I'm flyin' this far, yo! I'm jus' glad I only protect NYC." He stopped for a rest atop the towering mountain, scanning the area. "Woah. Monsters. All over the place! Too big to be trolls, and way meaner. And I thought trolls were the meanest! Well, looks like a job for the Am-Drag." Around he flew, protecting citizens and keeping the monsters away from them. It wasn't easy. It seemed like every monster had a different target. "What's the deal with these guys?!" Jake asked as he punched another monster. "They act like nothing fazes them. Maybe fire will change their tune." He blew hot flame at them.

Fire was enough to keep the monsters at bay, but not for long. "That Ninja dude knows something about keeping these monsters in check. I'd better find him ASAP."

"Aw great, another monster. I was just about to find the hospital!" a voice said from behind him. Jake turned to see a floating boy with white hair and green eyes dressed in a black and white jumpsuit. "I'm no monster, fool! I'm the American Dra-." He was cut short by a green blast to the chest.

"Woah! A monster who talks for once! Hey, do you know where the hospital is?" Danny asked

"Oh you did NOT just shoot at me!" Jake shouted, ignoring the last comment. He lunged straight for Danny Phantom. And, to his surprise, he lunged right _through_ him.

"What the-."

"Spare me. I'm a ghost. I'm looking for the Hospital. Know where it is?"

"Eat dragon fire!" Danny sighed.

"Look, I don't have all day for this, dragon. I need to find the ninja and rescue him, or something. And find a rogue ghost, while I'm at it."

"Wait, what'd you say?" Jake stopped breathing fire. "You lookin' for the ninja, too?"

"What?" Danny's eyes raised in surprise. "I thought I was the only one! Did you dream about a kid who said he was the ninja?"

"More like he invaded my dream, but yeah." Danny breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, I'm kinda relieved. I thought I was gonna have to go this one alone." Jake smiled. "Me too. It's easier to fight monsters with someone to watch your back. Now, you said you was lookin' for a hospital?" Danny nodded. "I was following those blue H signs."

"Naw, we don't need to follow no signs! I gots the eyes of a dragon, yo! Lemme jus' look for it, a'hite?" Jake scanned the area quickly before proclaiming, "There it is, yo! Norrisville Hospital! Let's go!"

"Hold it, dragon dude. I don't want everyone screaming at me. Gimme a minute." Danny Phantom hovered just above a tall building and transformed back into Danny Fenton, dropping to the roof. "Woah! Like, I can do that, too, yo!" Jake followed suit and transformed back into his human self. "Wow. So, you're half-dragon? Cool!"

"Not as cool as you bein' half-ghost! That's so cool!" Danny smiled. "Now, hows about we get down from here and get to that hospital."

"Leave that to me." Danny said, as he patted Jake on the shoulder, turning them both intangible. "Woah!" Jake said as they sank through the floors until they reached the bottom. "That's a neat trick. My name's Jake, by the way. Jake Long. AKA the American Dragon." Jake reached out a hand and Danny took it. "Name's Danny Fenton, AKA Danny Phantom. Let's go. I get a feeling we need to hurry."

* * *

Danny and Jake ran up to the receptionist desk. "We're here to see . . . uh. . . the coma kid." Jake said haltingly. "Smooth." Danny whispered. "Are you family or blood relations?"

"Um, we're friends?" Danny tried. The nurse frowned. "Only family and blood relations allowed to see him. Otherwise, no visitors." She pointed towards the door.

"Aw man, this reeks!" Jake said as they walked out the sliding doors. "We finally get here and we can't even see the guy!" Danny smiled "Or can't we? Ghost powers, remember?" Danny picked Jake up and they flew invisibly through the building.

"There!" Jake said. "I see him! In room B13!" Danny and Jake flew into the now darkened room. The moon was rising. It shone on a seemingly fast-asleep Randy Cunningham. "So, how do we rescue this dude?" Danny asked. "Leave that part to me. Part of being a magical protector is having the right potion." Jake had asked for specific instructions from Fu dog before he left. "Pour this stuff on the Nomicon. It should break any spell that any object has on it." Jake found himself being more careful after one-too-many misused potions. He poured the potion on the Nomicon, which was glued to Randy's hand. "Here goes nothin'."

Randy was in the middle of training with one of the Nomicon's dragons when a green light dinged repeatedly. "Woah! What was that, Ninja Prime?" Randy only had time to say those words before he was suddenly flung out of the Nomicon and into his own body.

"AW YEAH! I'M BACK!" Randy shouted as he sat bolt upright in the bed, awake, alert, and excited. "Yeah! You guys did it! Thanks for savin' me!" Randy held up his hand for a high five and Jake willingly slapped it. "It was mostly Jake. It's nice to finally meet you in, you know, real life." Danny said. He shook hands. "Name's Danny Fenton."

"Jake Long."

"And I'm Randy Cunningham, the Ninja!" Randy said, pumping his fist into the air. "OW! What the-." His arm came up a little short as a needle embedded into his left arm stopped him.

"I'm guessing those are feeding tubes or something. You have been out for a week." Danny said. "Oh my Shoob, that's right! I need to de-stank all those monsters before the sorcerer takes control!"

"Do what now?" Jake asked. "Before who takes control?" Danny finished. Randy took a deep breath.

"There's a sorcerer who lives under the high school that the ninja is sworn to keep locked up. Whenever anyone has their feelings hurt or are emotionally upset or vulnerable, the sorcerer uses them and turns them into monsters to wreak havoc on the city. When he has enough monsters, he can get enough power to free himself and sieze control of the town! We need to de-stank them." Danny laughed. "A sorcerer? Really? There's no such thing as. . ." Jake frowned at him. "You're half ghost, I'm half dragon, and he's a ninja. Of COURSE there's such thing as magic!"

"Oh. Sorry." Danny said.

"Wait, you're a dragon?" Randy asked. "So when you turned into a dragon in your dream. . ." Jake smiled "Not just a dream, yo. I'm the real thing." Jake transformed in front of Randy's very eyes. "You're looking at the official American Dragon, Magical protector of NYC. "Woah! So BRUCE!" Randy turned to Danny. "And you're a ghost?"

Danny transformed into his ghost form by way of answer. "SO BRUCE! We are gonna go kick some serious butt! Lemme get my ninja on and we can go!

Randy reached for his mask. And only found hospital clothes. "Aw flippin' shoobtastic. I need my ninja mask. It's probably back at my house. Can we make a quick stop before we go all hero on this town?"

"Sure" Jake said. "Fine by me." Danny repled. "Let me help you get out of those needles and tubes." Danny turned Randy's body intangible and the needles fell out. Unfortunately, his clothes fell off as well. "Woah!" Randy said. "Oops, sorry."

"Hang on, I'll get some clothes." Jake said. He rushed out the door, but Danny and Randy could soon hear screams coming from the hallway. Jake rushed back in. "Subtlety isn't your thing, is it?" Danny asked with a smirk. Jake grinned "Nope."

"Then I'll go ghost and save you the trouble." Two white-blue lines encircled Danny, transforming him into his alter ego. Within moments he was back with hospital drawers and a shirt.

"You're gonna need some pants if Dragon dude here is gonna carry you."

"Hey! I flew all the way here from NYC! What makes you think I'm gonna carry him."

"You're stronger than me. And besides, someone has to make sure we all stay invisible."

"Aw man!"

* * *

The trio flew over Norrisville to where Randy indicated his house was. "Just gotta aim for my room." The three flew soundlessly through the walls into Randy Cunningham's bedroom.

"All right! My ninja Mask! Now I can show y'all MY thing!" Randy put on the mask, and to Danny and Jake's surprise, black and red cloth coiled around him until he was completely covered, apart from the eyes. A Red scarf blew from his neck.

"A scarf?" Danny snorted. "Really?"

"Shut up. You have a giant D on your chest. The scarf is the cheese." Randy said, posing dramatically. Jake had to hide a smirk. "Let's go de-stank some monsters!"


	5. Chapter 4

"OK, so the key is to find the thing important to them and then either destroy it or fix it." Randy stated as he flew through the night sky atop the Am-Drag with Danny Phantom close beside them. "But how do we know what's most important to them?" Danny asked. Randy shrugged. "Well, sometimes it's obvious, but other times, not so much. Usually the Nomicon helps me out a bit."

"That book you were trapped in? But how can a book help?" Jake asked. Randy smiled. "It can help plenty." Bright, colorful words suddenly appeared in front of all three of them. "Woah!" Jake cried, flapping his wings frantically before he ran into them. "What the thermos?" Danny wondered as all three stared at the floating words. "You mean you guys can see that stuff too? I thought I was the only one!"

"Apparently." Jake said. Danny nodded as he focused on what the words said.

"Though items may be precious, a hero is even more so." Danny read. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Randy shrugged. "The Nomicon can be WAY weird sometimes." Jake chuckled. "It talks like my gramps."

"Let's just go and try and de. . . de-stank?" Danny asked. Randy nodded. "And we can figure out the cryptic riddle later."

The three continued flying towards the hoard of monsters. There was quite a sizeable amount now, lumbering through the darkened streets; Danny lost count after 20. As soon as Jake got close enough to the ground, Randy leaped off his back and did a perfect summersault to the ground, landing in a heroic pose just before he sprinted off to chase after flute girl and another girl who was screaming and running. "Woah. That bro's got some mad skills, yo!" Jake stated just before he flew down and did his own summersault, landing and breaking out some of his own mad skills at fighting.

Danny rolled his eyes as he scanned the area. Sometimes it was good to wait a minute before you got involved in a brawl that you couldn't win. Plasmeas had taught him that (unfortunately). Danny noticed that one monster was chasing after a boy with a musical triangle. "That triangle must be the k-." Danny started when some floating red arrows pointed to the hat on the running kid's head. "What the-? Is that you, Nomicon?" Danny asked tentatively. There was no sound, but words floated in the air, stating "When three heroes strong and true unite, the Nomicon shall see them through." Danny shrugged. "Whatever you say. I just need to know the things to get. Point the way." The arrows turned green again and Danny got a warm feeling in his stomach, like someone very powerful was also very proud of him. "This is so weird." Danny muttered to himself before plunging into the battle.

Hour after hour, the three heroes fought. A hat slashed here, a shoe torn there, even a few apologies, which Randy had to practically order the frightened citizens to give. Soon, people were being de-stanked all over the place and cheering the heroes on. "Huh. Nice to know they still appreciate me." Randy said, smiling. "Applause always feels good, but it is not the only thing." Jake said automatically. Randy gave him a funny look. Jake smirked. "My gramps always says stuff like that. But yeah, it's totally cool we get to bust some monsters and fix the town to the sound of fans. I mean, how can they not love alla dis!" Jake did a pose for the people before continuing to follow the red arrows pointing to the items that needed to be destroyed in order to de-stank the monsters.

Finally, the crowd of monsters was defeated. All that was left was cheering fans. "Uh, Randy, how soon does this group become a mob?" Danny asked nervously. The crowd had begun pushing in on them. Jake didn't say anything, but it was clear he was thinking about taking off. "Until I do this; SMOKE BOMB!" Randy shouted just before throwing a giant red smoke bomb at their feet.

At first, all Danny could see was red smoke. Then, as it cleared, he found himself standing on a deserted street. "Woah. How'd you do that, yo?" Jake asked as he shrunk down to his human form. Randy shrugged. "It's all part of the suit, bro. and it wasn't nearly as awesome as YOU kick-punching that trombone like that! So Bruce! You're the cheese!"

"Or how you were like Whabang all on those monsters! So sweet, ninja!" The two exchanged a round of high and low fives. "C'mon, Danny, you were awesome, too!" Jake said, holding up his hand. "We all were. That was pretty sick, Randy. But what now? Don't we need to look for the person who put that spell on the Nomicon? I thought you said it was a ghost."

"Oh yeah! We should probably look for that guy. If they put a spell on the Nomicon they can do it-." Randy interrupted himself with a yawn. Jake immediately followed suit. "Uh, maybe we should-." Danny got before he began yawning as well.

"It's late guys. Randy, got any place for us to crash for a bit until we get our strength back?" Danny asked. Randy nodded sleepily. "My place. We can guard the Nomicon while we sleep, too. No one should bother it with three people around it." Randy yawned again and threw a smoke bomb.

When the smoke bomb dissipated, they were standing in front of a house on a quiet neighborhood street. As Randy unlocked the door, Danny turned into his human form. No sense in scaring any parents.

Luckily, Randy's mom was asleep, and still as yet unaware that he was out of his coma. "We'd better sleep upstairs, guys. It's gonna be hard enough to explain to my parents what the juice is going on without having to tell them I'm a ninja and I have a dragon and ghost for friends." Jake grinned. "Sounds like me and my pops before he found out." Randy smiled. "Who doesn't know still? My mom and dad and basically the whole town doesn't know who the Ninja really is." Jake shrugged. "Most of NYC, my professor. But my whole family knows. Being a dragon runs in the family."

"Must be nice" Danny murmured as he took the blanket offered to him by Randy. "My family's a family of ghost hunters." Jake and Randy exchanged glances. "Super awkward, bro." Jake said. "That's wonk." Randy added. Danny smiled. "But they still know. Heck, my whole town knows. We saved the planet."

"Wait, was that when everything looked like it turned invisible?" Randy asked. Danny nodded. "Holy cow! So that was you!" Danny smiled "Me and a couple thousand ghosts. A meteor was charging at earth, so we had to save it."

"That's kinda awesome, bro." Jake said. "I've saved the magical realm countless times myself."

"Woah, woah, we are NOT getting in a 'who's better than who,' because I'd win." Danny said, crossing his arms.

"Shut up, you guys. It's too late. Argue tomorrow." Randy yawned before collapsing in an exhausted heap on the floor. Danny and Jake exchanged glances. Randy didn't seem too much younger than them, but he felt less experienced. Both of them had already had two years of experience in defeating evil forces, but this guy seemed like he'd had only one. Danny transformed and flew around the house until he had collected several pillows and blankets. Jake transformed, picked up Randy, and placed him in the ring of blankets and pillows. Neither spoke except to murmur a "goodnight" and to place the Nomicon in the center of the secret trio.

Danny came awake with a start. For a moment, all seemed still, but Danny had a strange sense of unease creeping up his spine. Then, he felt his breath go cold. _A ghost,_ he thought, and froze. Ghosts made no sound, so it was lucky Sam had insisted that he learn how to be sensitive to his ghost sense while sleeping. (This had involved a "not-so-good idea" of having Danny nap near the ghost portal while Sam and Tucker opened and closed it repeatedly. Not their best idea, but Danny had to admit, it worked). Danny closed his eyes almost all the way so that he could only peek through his lashes, then let his eyes turn from blue to green. Through his lashes he saw a shadowy figure floating silently towards their circle of pillows and heroes. Just before it floated over him, Danny shot up and fired, going ghost in a matter of milliseconds as he rose. The ghost was knocked to the side and screamed an unearthly wail as it was hit, which awoke Jake and Randy.

"What the-." Jake stared as the ghost charged at Danny, firing it's own power at him. He dodged and gave his ghostly wail, not bothering to answer Jake. This ghost was strong! It seemed to be an old woman, wrapped in ancient, Asian-looking clothes. Suddenly, Danny grew weak. He had forgotten how his ghostly wail took so much out of him. He'd not needed to use it in a while. Jake stepped in before Danny could be hit and blew flame at the ghost, which, surprisingly hit her and sent her richocheting backwards. "Ninja-o'clock!" Randy donned the suit and thought for a minute before pulling out his katana blade. "Ninja slice!" He crowed as he aimed to cut down the ghost. The ghost suddenly had all three heroes coming at her. She only barely dodged the katana, though it did hit her arm with a "Chink". Green goo dripped to the floor. "I am done playing with you!" the ghost spoke, and shot Danny in the chest. "AH!" Danny cried before being hurled against the wall. She phased through Jake, shooting his face as she did so. Jake collapsed in a heap, barely conscious while the ghost floated right to "THE NOMICON!" Randy cried. He raced over to where she was and stretched out his hand. Just before his fingers touched the black and red binding, Randy heard a sickening "R-R-Rip!"

"AAH!" Randy cried as a similar feeling erupted in his mind. It felt like something was tearing his brain!

"This is for what you have done to the Sorcerer, Ninja!" R-rip! "For all the plans you have foiled!" R-rip! "But now, thanks to me, he will rise again and rule this town!"R-rip! "YOU." Rip! "HAVE." Rip! "LOST!" R-r-rip! Danny took this monologue as an opportunity and weakly stood, pulling out the Fenton thermos. Before he could aim it at her, she vanished. "Crud," Danny mumbled as he screwed the lid on angrily. and frowned at what he saw before him. The room was a crazy mess of burned wood and ectoplasmic goo. Page upon page lay in a scattered mess on the floor. Randy was cradling what was left of the Nomicon, barely ten pages and a cover, a shocked look on his face. "B-But how? The Nomicon won't even open if it doesn't want you to!"

"Magic." Jake groaned as he stood and transformed back into his human form. "I think that was why the potion worked on your book. That ghost had magic. I don't know how, or why, but it did." Danny nodded, rubbing his ribs. That one was going to leave a mark. "I've seen ghosts use something like magic powers before, but nothing like that." Danny brightened. "Hey, do you think that's why she couldn't fight off your fire, Jake?" Jake shrugged and winced. His shoulders felt sore from that blast. What had that stuff been, anyway? "Maybe. What do you think, Randy?" Randy looked up at the two, a look of determination on his face. "I have to see what she's done to the Nomicon." As if in agreement, the Nomicon hummed weakly and the red lines on its black cover glowed and pulsated.

"Woah. I've never seen a book do that!" Jake said. Randy smiled faintly. "Yeah. Nomicon's pretty cool. Told ya." Red words flashed above Randy, ones he could not see. Danny and Jake read them silently and looked at each other, nodding. "We're coming with you." Danny said. "But shouldn't someone watch our bodies to make sure that ghost doesn't come back?" Randy asked. "Good plan. I'll go with him, you stay here, D-man. You can fight him off better anyway, without burning the place down." Danny snorted. "D-man?" Jake smirked. "I can do DP if you're up for that."

"No, no. . . just go. And be back quickly." Jake nodded. Randy opened the book. "Schloomp with me, my friend!" Randy angled the book so that it faced both of them, and all of a sudden, Jake was falling.

"WAAHH!" He cried, shocked. Ancient words raced past them as they fell, and Randy shouted in delight next to him. "YEAH! It's STILL HERE!" he cried, excited. "Nomicon must have saved itself somehow!" Jake was about to ask when they were going to stop falling when they seemed to hit a wall of white. "What the-." Jake started, peeling his face off the white. It felt strangely like paper.  
"Spoke too soon, bro." Randy groaned sadly, looking at the white. Red and black colors swirled around the white before it revealed a message. "The time has come for the ultimate lesson."

"The what now?" Jake asked. Randy's mouth hung open. "WHAT?! No! I just STARTED being a ninja! I can't give it up! Nomicon!" He almost sounded like he was whining.

"What the cheese, Nomicon! I thought we were buddies! I thought I was doing a good job at being a ninja! What, did I not do enough? I'm sorry that ghost lady tore out your pages, but what does the ultimate lesson have to do with it?"

"Uh, hang on a minute." Jake said, and Randy started. He wasn't used to having another person in the Nomicon with him. "What is the ultimate lesson anyway?" Randy took a deep breath and explained. "The ultimate lesson is the last lesson a ninja of Norrisville learns before, er, retiring. It wipes a ninja's mind of all he has learned, so that it might be added to the Nomicon." Randy's eyes grew wide. "Wait, added to the Nomicon! So, Nomicon, you mean that you want to add my memories to replace what you lost?" they turned back to the paper. The words only persisted, but a small line of green appeared below them. "The memories of Ninjas past contribute to the Nomicon and Norrisville's future."

Randy looked shocked. "Oh." Was all he said. Jake looked at him with sympathy. Though he had only known Randy a short while, it was obvious the kid had as much enthusiasm about being the ninja as he had about being the American Dragon. This "Ultimate Lesson" would take that away. It was like Rose being mind-wiped. He couldn't help but sympathize with this guy. "Randy, I'm sorry. You don't have to do this, right? Won't the Nomicon be fine without your memory?" Randy shook his head and closed his eyes, taking a deep, cleansing breath. "I've seen more than any other ninja. I even met the first one when I went back into the past, if you can believe that. The Nomicon isn't supposed to look like this." Randy gestured to the words and white around them. "It's a whole world inside here. And if I can't preserve that, I'm no hero." Randy's face steeled, and Jake gave him an encouraging smile. "Alright, Nomicon. I'm ready." Randy said, his voice shaking. The words and paper writing vanished, and a hallway, looking strangely like a Japanese castle, appeared. Jake blinked. If this was just a shadow of what the Nomicon had been, it really was a whole world. One that trained heroes. Randy walked to the doors and placed his hands on the handles. Before he opened them, he turned to Jake to give him a grateful smile. "You might want to cover your eyes for this part." He said. Then, turning back, randy opened the doors to a ray of white light. Jake covered his eyes until he heard the doors shut with a snap.


	6. Chapter 5

When Jake opened his eyes, he felt that falling sensation again. He sat up with a jolt as Randy groaned and rose from the pages of the book. "What hit me?" he said wearily before glancing over at Jake. Randy jumped and his eyes widened in shock. Jake froze. Was he in dragon mode? What was it?

"Who are you?" Jake sighed in relief as he glanced down, happy to see he had stayed in his human form during the whole "book-diving" experience. "I'm Jake. We're . . . sort of friends." Randy gave Jake a skeptical look. "You sound like you're from out of town. And what the heck are you doing in my room?"

"Uh, having a slumber party?" Jake felt that excuse was lame with a capital L, but it _was_ mostly the truth. Danny silently transformed back to his alter-ego behind Randy. Something had happened to Randy, and if he wasn't remembering Jake, Danny had a hunch Randy wouldn't remember he was a ghost, or Jake a dragon. He stepped casually to the side in order to reveal himself to the ninja. "I'm here for the sleepover, too. Don't you remember?" Danny asked, following Jake's lead. Randy jumped and whirled around to look up at Danny, who had his arms crossed and was smiling down at him in his best "I'm normal" way. Randy shook his head. "I don't think I've ever seen you guys before in my life." Colorful swirls appeared above Randy's head. Jake and Danny exchanged glances. It looked like whatever Randy had done had worked, and the Nomicon was back.

"A ninja can be re-forged if his valor is ignited." Danny and Jake read aloud. "Do you know what the heck that means?" Danny asked. Jake shrugged. "Valor is something that's usually like knighthood. Y'know, honor n'stuff. And I guess the Nomicon means we need to get his honor as a ninja back?"

"Think we can do it by taking down that ghost-witch?"

Jake smiled. "I think that might be what the Nomicon means."

"What are you guys talking about? What's a Nomicon? Why is there ripped paper all over the floor? Are we gonna help the ninja? Is this what our sleepovers are like?" Randy butted in.

"OK, here's the deal." Jake said, taking a deep breath.

"You are the ninja and I'm a dragon and Danny is a ghost-boy and we came to save you 'cuz you was trapped in the Nomicon, which is that book over there, but then the ghost-witch that cast the wack spell on the book in the first place came back and started ripping out pages and then you and I went into the Nomicon and you had to get your memory erased to re-write the Nomicon or something (I'm still not clear on the deets of _that_ adventure), and now we need to go reignite your valor or something to remake you and help you remember that you're the ninja."

Randy's face was pale with shock. Danny's face, however, was impressed. "Great summing up!" he said, giving Jake a thumb's up as the American dragon got his breath back. "Thanks. Comes from explaining to freakin' crazy pixies and brownies all the time." Danny raised an eyebrow. "Pixies and brownies?" Jake shrugged. "Mostly. They're the ones who are constantly having feuds. . . or disagreements . . . or arguments . . . or wars." Danny shot Jake a look of sympathy. At least he didn't need to deal with any of those things. Heck, compared to all the diplomacy Jake seemed to have to work with, his job was easy. More of a "ghost-busters" type deal. Grab 'em and Bag 'em.

Both looked over at Randy, who was still trying to process the load of information he'd just been dumped in. "Uh, Randy? We gotta go. Look, this will make a whole lot more sense if you just put on your ninja suit and we get the ghost-witch. You can process on the way." Danny said, holding out his hand. Randy nodded, his mouth still open like a fish's, as he grabbed the offered hand and stood slowly. Jake glanced around and saw the ninja mask lying on the floor next to the Nomicon. "Here, put this on." Randy snapped out of whatever his mind was struggling with when he saw the mask. "But, it's just for the face. Isn't the Ninja supposed to have a full body suit?"

"Oh, don't worry. Just put it on." Danny said, grinning. Hesitatingly, Randy did so. It wasn't like he wasn't excited about somehow being the Ninja, but it was disconcerting that he didn't remember anything, and having two strangers who claimed to be a dragon and a ghost was even more unsettling. But when the black and red bands wrapped themselves from his mask around his body, something felt. . . right about it. "AW YEAH!" Randy said, now excited. "This is SO BRUCE!" Even if these two jokers thought they were a dragon and a ghost, he KNEW the ninja was real, and he KNEW that this was the ninja's suit.

"Great, then let's go. The ghost-witch is getting away." Danny said, going ghost and grabbing both Jake and Randy by their collars faster than a blink, and flying through the walls to the outside before either could protest. Jake turned into a dragon shortly after. "WOAH!" Randy cried as within seconds of doubting the two he found himself flying invisibly on the back of a dragon. Danny sat in front with Randy behind, and he turned to discuss their plan with the ninja. "OK, I've been sensing a ghost somewhere in the Northwest, near that giant mountain, and I think we can sneak up on her if we stay invisible and quiet. I've got the fenton thermos, and all we need to do is trap this witch and then we'll be home-free."

"Uh, one question, ghost-boy. If you can sense her, than can't she sense you, too?" Jake asked. Danny's face fell. "Oh. Right. Shoot."

"That's Ok." Randy said encouragingly. "I think I'd like some butt-whupping action right about now."

"You too?" Jake joked. Danny had to smile.

Silence descended as Danny concentrated on scanning for the ghost while they flew.

"This is awkward." Randy said after a moment. Jake chuckled. "I know. I feel like someone's gonna fart any minute." Randy giggled.

"Shh!" Danny said as he continued scanning. What was with these two? They were acting like a pair of toddlers with the cookie jar. He felt like a weary older brother. "Oh come on, Danny. Lighten up." Jake whispered. Danny smirked. "How's this for lightening up?" he whispered back, and phased into Jake. "Oh, lookit me, I'm a big scary dragon and I can breathe fire and break all your china. Woohoo, you wanna be NOT subtle? THAT'S ME!" Danny flew out of Jake through his nose and crossed his arms as he flew backwards, grinning at the dragon with a "come at me bro" look.

"What the-. Man, that ain't RIGHT!" Jake groaned as Randy giggled on his back. Danny opened his mouth to respond but a puff of air escaped instead. Danny frowned and glanced downwards, where he felt the presence. He didn't have to scan the ground below for long. The ghost witch hurled herself straight at them, screaming in a ghostly wail, claws extended. It took Danny a moment to realize that she was shouting words.

"AW MAN!" Jake said as he felt his body changing back. The woman was chanting a spell that forced dragons to reveal their human identity, one he was familiar with. "WAAHH!" Randy cried as he fell off the shrinking American Dragon. Danny dove for the ninja but felt a sudden forcefeild encase him in a giant glowing red bubble. "AAARGH!" Danny shouted in anger and he crashed into the bubble. "RANDY!"

Randy felt himself falling, but strangely calm. He looked up at what was going on. Jake was held by a red glow from the witch ghost lady, and Danny was in a bubble, unable to help. She seemed to be sucking something from Jake. He cried out in pain as red and green mist flowed from his body and into her mouth. The witch didn't speak, but she licked her lips.

"I gotta help them!" Randy thought, just as he passed an electrical wire. Without even thinking, Randy shot out a hand, and his red scarf whipped around the wire. He swung around once and his hands. . . the suit made him reach out and grab the bubble that held Danny. Sudden lights and colors swirling in patterns hit his eyes as he tried to hold on to the slick magic sphere. The words formed into a sentence "Air fist," and before Randy could even question what an air fist was, his hands shot out again and let go of the bubble. Randy almost scrambled for his grip, but the suit put his hands in a form that looked like some sort of air-bending, movements that felt as familiar as they felt strange. He felt the suit turning his body to face the witch. His hands came together just as his feet left the sphere and a giant WHOOSH of air shot from his fingers. The airfist shot out and exploded in a windy gale with the force of a tornado against the ghost-witch's chest. She screamed, her concentration broke, and Jake was released. He fell for a few seconds before he remembered to dragon up.

Danny dove for Randy and brought him up faster than lightning. "All together!" He shouted "One-"

"Three!" Jake hollered and all three shot what they had at the witch. Danny could feel her ghostly energy fading as Jake felt her magical essence dissolving. Danny quickly grabbed the Fenton thermos and aimed it at her. Within seconds she was slurped up into the thermos like soup, screaming a ghostly wail all the way. Danny capped the Thermos and looked decidedly pleased with himself.

"DANNY!" Jake shouted as Randy fell to earth.

"Oops!" Danny said, his proud moment ruined. How had he not noticed that he'd let go of Randy?

"I got him." Jake said, swooping low.

"WAAH!" Randy cried as Jake caught him with outstretched claws. "I gotcha, ninja bro." Jake said. "Th-thanks." Randy said before turning his head to look at the ground, the back at Jake.

"What? I didn't hurtcha did I?"

"THIS. IS. SO. BRRRRUHUHUHUUUCE!" Randy screamed as they flew back to his house. Jake grinned. "Flying IS pretty cool, gotta admit." Jake said as they flew higher. "Not just that, You guys were AWESOME!" Randy crowed. "I WAS AWESOME! WE WERE THE STRAIGHT UP CHEESE!" Danny smiled. "It was pretty cool. But something tells me this ghost-witch won't stay trapped for long." Jake nodded. "It doesn't take long for sorceresses to get loose. And that one is definitely a sorceress. Maybe that Nomicon book can help." Danny shrugged. "It's worth a shot."


	7. Chapter 6

Randy Cunningham, Danny Fenton, and Jake Long all stood with the thermos, staring at the Nomicon. Its red stripes and lines glowed, as if pleased beyond words. "What are we doing?" Randy asked suddenly, after they had stared a moment longer. "The Nomicon is going to tell us what to do, but. . . ." Danny started, but trailed off. He didn't really know what to expect when opening the thing. It had a feeling like the ghost portal. It felt like something could come out that was old, ancient, and maybe dangerous. But it mostly felt like you could fall in, just like you could fall into the ghost portal.

Jake shrugged. This felt no stranger than any other magical thing. In fact, it felt a little . . . familiar. Like his great uncle or something. "I think we'd better just go in. We can't keep staring forever, and that sorceress will be coming out any time now. Let's get this over with." The boy knelt on one knee (like a knight, Randy thought), and opened the book. As the three stared at the pages the book seemed to drop its bottom, and they all fell in.

"WOAH!" Danny cried as they fell past words in ancient writing, and words highlighted and scribbled flew by, pictures of dragons roared to life and flew around them. Danny caught his breath for a minute. The dragons were none like he'd seen. Eastern looking. Golden and red. And absolutely breathtaking. "I know, right?" Jake said, laughing. He was starting to like the way the Nomicon did things. Heck, it hurt a lot less than training with Grandpa. Randy screamed, but when Jake looked over the boy was smiling. Maybe he did remember some of this.

The pages pf words parted like a curtain and Jake finally understood what Randy had said before he'd sacrificed his memory. There was a whole world in here! They glimpsed scenery that looked like paintings, but moved just as anything in the real world would. Waterfalls, fish, trees in the wind, birds flying, even several Eastern-looking dragons!

The trio landed in a grassy meadow surrounded by peaceful woods. A man in black with red stripes and a red scarf who looked similar to the Ninja, but not quite as sleek, appeared through the trees and came forth. He placed his hands in front of him, one in a fist, the other flat and vertical on top of the fist. The man bowed ceremoniously, but he was grinning. "Welcome, friends, to the Nomicon. You have defeated the Sorceress, mother of the Sorcerer that is entrapped here in Norrisville," he said. "Uh, our pleasure, ninja dude." Jake said uncertainly. Danny offered the Fenton thermos, but the Ninja held his hands up, refusing it. "The Sorceress must be locked in another dimension, one from which no ghost can escape. Should she be allowed to roam free, she would cause destruction in all parts of the world, not simply in Norrisville." Danny stepped back. He sure hoped some place other than the ghost zone would be suggested. It wasn't exactly inescapable, after all.

"But, uh, how do we do that?" Randy asked. The ninja turned to him. "First, we must return what memory we can to you. For you are the only one who can open the portal to the shadow realm, where the sorceress must be imprisoned." The ninja reached out a hand and placed it flat against Randy's forehead. His eyes turned white as a rush of memories returned to him. The ninja. Freshman year. The Nomicon. The Sorceress. Jake and Danny. With a moan, Randy fell backwards. Jake and Danny rushed forward to catch him.

"Hey, dude, you a'ight?" Jake asked. Randy moaned. "Woah. I feel like my brain just got blown up like a balloon." Randy weakly stood and smiled in gratitude up at Ninja Prime. "Thanks, bro," he murmured weakly. The first ninja smiled down warmly at Randy. "Any time, old friend. And now, we must dispose of the scorceress."

"How?" all three asked.

"Within the Ghost zone there lies another dimension. It is called The black hole. You three must travel to Amity Park and dispose of the ghost scorceress yourselves."

"But, aren't you coming with us?" Randy asked. "The Nomicon will accompany you, yes. But after all," Ninja prime half-smiled. "I'm only a page in the Nomicon. I will be with you nonetheless." Randy smiled, and with that, the three were hurled back into their bodies and the real world.

"So, where's Amity Park?" Jake asked as he rubbed his head. He felt like he'd just gotten hit by his grandpa. "It's actually where I live. But getting this scorceress thing into the black hole place isn't going to be easy. The Ghost zone isn't exactly a friendly place, and on top of that, I've never even heard of that dimension, and I've been exploring the ghost zone for two years!"

"Chillax, bro, we're with you!" Jake slapped Danny on the back encouragingly. "We'll figure this out together, as a team."

"Yeah, speaking of teams, don't we need, like, some sort of bruce name?" Randy asked. "I was thinking, 'The secret trio!' " Danny rolled his eyes. "Dream on. We're not giving ourselves some team name."

"Why not? I always wanted to be in a superhero league or somethin'." Jake said.

"We'll talk about it on the way, guys. We've got a lot of flying to do." Danny grabbed the two and phased through the walls with the Nomicon and Fenton Thermos in tow. This was going to be a long flight.


End file.
